Why Egypt?

Hi Gardening and Wellness Friends 👋🏼

A little over a year ago a friend and mentor asked if I wanted to donate my time in Egypt providing pain relief with Neuromuscular Restoration and provide support to Palestinians. They had been displaced to Egypt while a genocide was wiping out entire lineages of their families. At the time, I had been following what was transpiring, but none of my family and only a few friends were speaking about the atrocity. What I was witnessing through many firsthand accounts from locals in Gaza was very different than what our news channels were reporting. I was all in when she asked if I wanted to volunteer. I wanted to provide support, but more importantly I wanted to learn t what was happening. Needless to say, the majority of what we’ve been conditioned to learn and know about Palestine, and the middle east is far from reality. Palestinians are being exterminated. An entire population of people living within a 25 mile area have been denied the right to move freely within their own country and have been denied the ability to freely establish their lives in other areas of the world. This is being done to take over their homeland, to have access to resources in the middle east, to turn their homeland into developed lands for settlers to live and for smart cities to be developed. This genocide is being funded and executed by the U.S. and Israel.

What I found when meeting Palestinians and Egyptians was their devotion to God overrides the worldly emotions of hate, resentment, fear, angst, or worry. They focus their lives on serving, living for acceptance into heaven. They live with a servant’s heart and want to care for those around them. With access to very little, they give what they do have freely with their focus being on fellowship. Their priorities are much different than what we prioritize in the west. Our “first world problems” are insignificant in Egypt.
I returned home and felt lost. The things that were important to me before the trip I no longer held important. The worries I had before I left were insignificant. I felt as if I was living in a world that was superficial. I yearned for the depth of connection to a people who truly focused on what was important: kindness, family, fellowship, homemade food, and serving others to be received in the highest level of paradise (aka heaven). Within 2 months I was back in Egypt, donating my time and serving Palestinians during their holiday Eid al Adha. I’ve been returning every 6 to 8 weeks since. April 2024.

I’ll continue next week

Until next time…..

🌿To our health and the health of our gardens🌿

Tina